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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409127">A Pretty Bird</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequietcanadian/pseuds/thequietcanadian'>thequietcanadian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Team STRQ Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Dresses, Ficlet, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Protective Tai, Short, Skirts, Team STRQ - Freeform, Team STRQ week, day 3:confessions/promises</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:13:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequietcanadian/pseuds/thequietcanadian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tai is suppose to be out on a mission. Qrow is suppose to have the dorm to himself but well things don't always go according to plan. Tai promises that he won't tell the girls Qrow's secret.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Team STRQ Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Pretty Bird</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hey-o it is day three of strq week! this will probably be my last longish stories for the week. I've always loved the head cannon that Qrow likes wearing skirts and dresses and being confident in them but figured that couldn't have always been the case sooo this is where that comes from. I also wanted some protective/ friendship with Tai cause a lot of fics I see that don't get along much. So I hope you like it and if you got time please leave a comment.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tai doesn’t know how he’s gotten into the situation he’s currently in. We’ll he knows how but he just doesn’t know what to do about it.</p><p>Summer and Raven had gone on a duo mission on the border between Vacuo and Vale. They weren’t supposed to be back for at least a week and with them going with Professor Storm he didn’t doubt it would take that long. He was supposed to go on a solo mission to Vytal for four days, but it had been cancelled something to do with Atlas’s cold winds and Vales warmer ones creating the risk of a hurricane. He hadn’t particularly minded meant he’d get a free grade and he’d gone back to his room content as could be.</p><p>He’d stepped through the door content to take a shower and play some video games afterwards with Qrow, would opted for a history course rather than an extensive amount of field work. He hadn’t be ready for what stood behind that door.</p><p>Qrow had stood in front of Summers full length mirror a flowy shimmery black skirt the only piece of clothing he’d been wearing. Qrow had a pleased smile on his face, running his hands through the material reverently. Tai knew he shouldn’t be there was going to make a hasty retreat through the open-door way but as he back pedalled his heel slammed the door shut and Tai was meet with Qrow’s shocked face that quickly turned into panic. Qrow had yanked the comforter of his bed wrapping it around himself like a protective barrier.</p><p>They stood there in a tense silence, Tai unsure what he should say or if he should even say anything. A sob shattered the silence and Tai watched as his teammate cried and he moves without thinking pulling Qrow into his arms and gently shushing him, pulling him into his lap onto his bed.</p><p>“please don’t tell Rae or or” a sob rips through him and Tai hugs him tighter, it worked with his younger sister maybe it would work with Qrow.</p><p>“Or Summer, Tai please” Qrow clutches onto his shirt and Tai doesn’t know how to fix this because Qrow’s never upset or emotional and to be like this means he’s actually scared, and Tai doesn’t know why.</p><p>“I wont tell em Qrow okay, I promise, have I ever gone back on a promise?” Qrow shakes his head into his shoulder, and Tai relax a fraction, he can work with this.</p><p>“you want to tell me why though” Qrow stiffens in his arms and Tai mentally smacks himself, he’d just gotten Qrow to relax marginally he shouldn’t be pushing him. Yet Tai catches a mumbled response, and he strains to hear it, praying that he hears it properly because he doesn’t want to ask him to repeat it.</p><p>“they’ll laugh” and Tai wants to argue, wants to tell Qrow he’s wrong but he can’t because he doesn’t actually know. Raven can be unpredictably cruel and well Summer spoke without thinking sometimes.</p><p>“they laughed before” Qrow adds shifting in Tai’s lap and Tai flinches as he recalls two months prior. It had been a bet that Qrow had not surprisingly lost. Raven had let out a loud laugh, Summer had giggle and he’d…he’d howled in laughter… gods they’d fucked up, they’d fucked up and hadn’t even realized.</p><p>“You laughed too” Qrow said in his arms, trying Tai knew to hide the tremors of his body. It wasn’t working.</p><p>“I’m sorry for that okay, I didn’t know you’d like em, and I’m sorry” Tai was going to spend a large amount of time kicking himself for this one. Qrow seems to take a shaky breath in his arms, before saying lowly.</p><p>“Your not going to tease me about it?”  Tai shook his head and realized Qrow couldn’t see it, so he lifted his chin up, face red and splotchy from crying. The raw vulnerability had Tai carefully picking his words. If he fucked this up Qrow would never trust him again, he could feel it.</p><p>“No. I won’t. I shouldn’t have the first time either. Especially since its something you like, but know that you can trust me with this okay? I won’t tell and if you don’t want to talk about it anymore, we don’t have too” it took a moment for Qrow to process what he said, and his arms wrap around Tai hesitantly.</p><p>“Do you like it? Is it pretty?” Tai looks down into hopeful eyes.</p><p>“didn’t really get to see it little bird” Qrow moves off his lap, blanket still held protectively around him before shyly dropping it. Tai whistles and Qrow has a smile on his face that Tai hasn’t seen before, so he tells him to twirl. Qrow does a laugh leaving him.</p><p>“that the only one you got?” Tai asks after a moment and Qrow nods hand running through the material.</p><p>“Summer and Rae always come with me to town, so I don’t usually get the chance to buy any” Tai nods in understanding the girls loved heading into town, stopping at thistles thumb to drink before hitting up the clubs or shopping.</p><p>“did you want to go get more” Qrow nods, heading towards his dresser and pulling out a pair of gray slacks.</p><p>“You aren’t going to wear what you got on?” Qrow pauses one pant leg already halfway up, he doesn’t look at Tai as he shakes his head, cheeks red.</p><p>“people will say something” Tai’s eyes harden, clearly people had already said something or Qrow wouldn’t be worried about it.</p><p>“if anybody says anything to you than they have me to deal with” Tai’s eyes shade red for a moment as his semblance goes off and Qrow drops the pants readjusting the skirt before reaching for his dress shirt. It doesn’t quite match, but Tai isn’t going to tell him that especially since Qrow seems to be bouncing with excitement.</p><p>They grab two more skirts while in town, one a velvet red that’s shorter in the front and longer in the back, while the other is tight leather that shows of Qrow’s alabaster legs beautifully. Tai glares at anyone who stares a bit to long as Qrow walks beside him, Tai thinks it’s the most Qrow’s every been relaxed around him and he thanks the brothers that he got this chance to earn his trust.</p><p>Its not until a couple weeks later that its brought up again. Summer is away in Vacuo visiting her parents and Raven was out on a recon mission for Ozpin. They’re suppose to be gone for four days and Tai watches that first morning as Qrow reaches for the red skirt sitting in their dorm room playing video games completely comfortable.</p><p>Qrow goes to the mess hall with it on, its relatively empty and Tai smiles as his teammate, no his friend because that’s what they were slowly becoming talks animatedly about some legend from Professor Koa’s class. Something about Silver eyed warriors, he’s not quite sure. He’s unprepared for Qrow to stop mid-stride and he crashes into him, grabbing his arm so they don’t go tumbling. Tai glances over to the back corner of the mess hall sees someone looking at Qrow with disdain, he sees red. Tai marches over like a lion on the prowl, a scowl on his face and eyes blazing.</p><p>“Got a problem” Tai asks mere seconds away from clocking the person as they lean against one of the pillars.</p><p>“Yeah”</p><p>“well keep it to yourself” The person sneers at him and if someone were to ask him what this person looked like he wouldn’t be able to say because he didn’t care, the only thing he cared about was making Qrow feel safe again.</p><p>“Make me” Tai punches them so hard the pillar cracks, aura shattering mere seconds afterwards.  He hoists them up by the collar.</p><p>“that was a warning. Leave” the persons friends drag him out of the mess hall, as Tai stalks back to Qrow.</p><p>“You hit them” Qrow says stunned and Tai looks at him confused.</p><p>“I told you I would” Tai has just enough time to brace himself before Qrow launches himself at him.</p><p>“Thank you”</p><p>Tai knows Raven and Summer have picked up on the change in demeanour between the two of them. Qrow smiles more, argues less, and the banter between the two of them leaves from wounding to playful. If Tai’s being honest, he’s been nicer to Qrow, tossing him his comic book when he’s done with them or handing him his notes when Qrow’s missed something.</p><p>There fighting becomes cleaner too. Maybe its because of the newfound comradery between the two or it’s the trust and Tai is certain it’s the second one because Qrow lets him cover his back something he doesn’t even let Raven do. He also knows its making the girls suspicious. They corner him one day as he’s heading back from doing his laundry.</p><p>“So what did you do to get my little brother to trust you” Raven says as she pulls out of the shadows and Tai startles nearly dropping his basket. Summer’s right behind her a soft smile on her face.</p><p>“Yeah Tai tell us” The thing was, Tai wasn’t good at lying. In fact he was awful at it and the girls knew that, but he wasn’t about to say anything. He’d promised Qrow he wouldn’t and the memory of the fear in Qrow’s eyes had him trying and failing to pull on his best poker face.</p><p>“Nothing” Raven scoffed as Summer rolled her eyes, pulling up beside him and tugging on his arm.</p><p>“Come on Tai Tai tell me, I’m his partner!” Tai shook his head extracting himself from Summer, he wouldn’t tell not if Qrow didn’t want him to. Summer pouted at him as he began to stride back to there dorm room.</p><p>“have you tried talking to him? Works wonders” He didn’t have to turn to know neither of them believed him. It didn’t matter Qrow had asked only one thing of him and he’d be damned if he didn’t do it.</p><p>It is during one particular day that Tai’s out with the girls that he see’s it. The girls keep walking, but Tai sees it from the corner of his eye. It’s a shimmering velvet green dress, one side goes to about midthigh while the other is much shorter. It has a few ruffles in the front, the top has two horizontal straps to keep it up. He enters the shop on impulse, one he and Qrow hadn’t visited before. Qrow’s collection had grown a fair bit, hidden in the bottom of Tai’s closet under several of his cargo pants.</p><p>Qrow had mentioned wanting a dress almost off headedly as Tai kicked his ass in Mario Kart. Tai thought this one would be perfect. It wasn’t Qrow’s favored red, but the green would complement his eyes. He inquired about it in a haze. It was a bit expensive but… it would work as a solstice present. Summer would go back to her parents for the holidays, Raven had already boosted about taking off to Vytal for a “special” mission for Ozpin. Tai was staying here for the holidays; his Grandmother having stayed in Atlas to help at the academy. Qrow hadn’t said anything but he suspected he wasn’t doing anything. Which would make this gift perfect.</p><p> He guessed on the size; he knew Qrow generally wore a medium sometimes a large depending on the clothing. The man at the counter asked if he wanted it wrapped and Tai said yes because his wrapping skills were lacking and Qrow deserved something nice. He didn’t write a name on it just in case the girls saw it.</p><p>Tai left the shop with a smile on his face, before the girls gave him a wicked grins as they backtracked to him.</p><p>“What you got there Tai” Summer asked innocently trying to grab the wrapped package from his arms. He lifted it out of her reach, the benefits of being the tallest one on their team.</p><p>“Nothing”</p><p>“Obviously not nothing considering you just came out of a women’s clothing store” Raven said crossing her arms to hide her interest.</p><p>“Is it a solstice present? Is it for me? For Rae?”  Tai snorted at her giddy excitement.</p><p>“It’s not for either of you, nosy” Tai knows it’s the wrong thing to say the moment it leaves him mouth.</p><p>“Oh?” Shit. Tai needed to think and fast.</p><p>“It’s for Yue. She said she wanted a new dress for the solstice” He’d need to call his sister and beg her to cover for him. Maybe he’d bribe her with her favorite snacks, some lien. Summer seemed to consider something for a moment before shrugging.</p><p>“Okay” Tai got the distinct feeling that this wasn’t the end of it.</p><p>There’s little things that Qrow says that Tai wished he could tell Summer because she knew how to reassure him better than he ever could. She always seemed to know the right things to say, but he was the one here, so he needed to figure it out and fast. Qrow was standing in front of the mirror again, a plain thigh high black skirt on with a red turtleneck on.Tai hadn’t known why he was frowning, it had looked nice for something that was relatively simple compared to his other ones.</p><p>“Rae would look prettier in this” Tai shifts on his bed, hand hovering over his foot as he pauses putting on his sock. He watches as Qrow tugs on the shirts sleeve.</p><p>“She always looks prettier.” Qrow pauses eyes downcast and Tai is at a loss for words.</p><p>“beautiful, perfect… the better twin” Tai stands, hesitantly coming up behind his friend, resting his hands on his shoulders. He didn’t know how to tell Qrow that half the people he thought were looking at his sister were looking at him and even if he did, he doubted he’d believe him.</p><p>‘you look absolutely stunning Qrow” Tai can see that Qrow wants to argue with him, but sees the honesty in Tai’s eyes and stops.</p><p>“I like them because they make me feel better” Qrow blurts out all of a sudden, surprise flashes through both their eyes.</p><p>“It makes you feel better?” Tai asks hesitantly not sure if he should push or reframe but he gets a nod from Qrow.</p><p>“When… when I’m at my worst, its nice to feel even just for a second like I’m beautiful” Not for the first time Tai is thankful that he’d walked into the room so long ago, but he needs to correct something to Qrow’s statement needs him to know something.</p><p>“Your always beautiful Qrow, don’t look at me like that its true! And Raven isn’t the better twin honestly, she can be a bit…cold gods it took weeks for her to even attempt working with me, not the point. My point is she isn’t better than you Qrow” It’s silent in the room for a second, before Tai sees Qrow’s eyes go watery, he ignores it as a smile comes to his face.</p><p>“Thanks Tai”</p><p>Tai had miscalculated, how badly the storm was going to affect flights out of the kingdom. Hadn’t even really checked the weather once the girls had left. He’d been to excited to give Qrow his gift, to see the way Qrow tore at the paper. Held the dress to his form as a giddy laugh left him. He hadn’t waited to open the other gifts had stripped right in the middle of the dorm room. Tai was right the dress had looked perfect on him and he knew Qrow thought so too by the way he admired himself in the mirror, running his hands over the fabric.</p><p>It was than that the door had flown open Summer standing in the door way looking thoroughly disgruntled and Raven who looked pissed off. Qrow stood frozen in front of the mirror as Tai sat in shock. He was pulled out of it as Raven began to laugh watched as misery came to Qrow’s face. He didn’t care that Raven was his partner, didn’t care that this was her dorm room too. He strode across the room and tossed her out, she landed flat on her ass, a snarl twisting her face one that Tai returned.</p><p>“Come back when you can be a decent human being” He snapped slamming the door behind him. He glanced at Qrow who’s eyes were locked on Summer who hadn’t said anything. He rounded on her.</p><p>“Do I need to kick you out too?” Tai would do it, even though he’d known Summer for years he wouldn’t hesitate.</p><p>“The package wasn’t for Yue” <br/>“No.” Tai grabbed the blanket off his bed, moving to wrap it around Qrow before placing him on his bed. Summer would have to get through him first if she wanted to say something.</p><p>“is this the secret you’ve been keeping?” Tai nodded glancing at Qrow to see if he was okay.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me birdie” Summer moved towards him and Tai stepped in front of her as Qrow trembled in his spot.</p><p>“I wasn’t going to tell any of you. Tai found out by accident, he promised he wouldn’t say anything” Tai watched as Summer digested what he was saying before moving to her closet, throwing clothes across the floor until she pulled out a black dress one far to large for her small form.</p><p>“This doesn’t fit me, but it would look nice on you” she holds the garment out in front of her waiting before slowly Qrow gets up and takes it.</p><p>“You don’t care?”</p><p>“Of course, not silly bird, wear what ever the fuck you want” Summer gasped excitement coming to her face.<br/>“There’s a new store that just opened up! We can get something there if you want, I was going to get you something in Vacuo but well I can’t get a flight out for at least two days!” Qrow’s eyes darted to Tai pleading.</p><p>“Tai can come too” Summer added thoughtfully and Qrow’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, before Qrow was chewing on his bottom lip in worry.</p><p>“what about Rae?” Tai scowled.</p><p>“I don’t care and if anybody says anything little brother, I’ll kill them” Tai can’t read her expression and he knows they all need to talk about this, but it isn’t the time.</p><p>“Let me see what this idiots gotten you” Raven makes a twirling motion and Qrow hesitates before doing what his sister asks.</p><p>“Not bad. You actually have decent taste Tai” Tai rolls his eyes. Its not till later that night that Raven and Summer approach him. Qrow’s in the shower and he’d been listening to some music when his earbuds had been ripped out of his ears, he winced glaring.</p><p>“Thank you” Tai stared at Raven, she never said thank you, never apologized either but that was another thing entirely.</p><p>“For?” Raven wouldn’t look at him.</p><p>“for looking after my brother when I didn’t” Tai nodded.</p><p>“You should apologize. For earlier” Raven glowered at him, before begrudgingly nodding in agreement.</p><p>“Yeah, Thanks Tai. We owe you one” Summer pauses before a twinkle comes to her eye.</p><p>“So tell me everything he likes I need a solstice gift for him and your my most valuable asset right now” Tai groaned, this was going to be a long night.</p>
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